Is it really November?

Just thought I would give an overall update on Mason and Mia.

Mason's Eating and Drinking

He is pretty much eating just about anything. I even got him to try broccoli the other day! His favorite food is cheese. Seriously, it is the first thing he says when he wakes up. He gets out of bed and asks for cheese. And throughout the day, he continues to ask for it even though he knows that he is only allowed that one stick of cheese a day. He also loves the Goldfish crackers. We always leave a few on the edge of the table and he grabs and goes. Mason's drinking is still our challenge. He has made a lot of strides in this area but still has room to improve. Mason will only drink water. We keep track of how much he drinks to make sure he gets the required amount each day. He is now drinking out of a regular cup and holds it all by himself. He is so very proud of himself at this accomplishment. His latest thing is to blow bubbles in his cup instead of drinking it! Mason is also now taking all of his medications by mouth. This was a big acheivement since he hates taking his aspirin. After getting some ideas from a fellow heart mom (thanks, Janel), I changed the flavor and he takes his "vitamin" the same time Sissy takes hers. Success! We are so very proud of him!

Here is Mason drinking out of his big boy cup all by himself! What you don't see is the great big smile on his face when he is done. I'm lovin' it!

Mason's G-Tube

Now that we have made these strides with his eating and drinking, we are hoping we are very close to no longer needing Mason's G-Tube (the tube that is connected to his stomach). Mason had a pediatrician appointment on November 1st and the doctor thinks it is time to get rid of the feeding tube! It would be so great to not have to worry about it anymore. My understanding is that all we have to do is remove the tube (which we are trained to do when we were trained on how to change it) and the hole will grow shut in a matter of hours. Although I am very excited to get rid of it, there is comfort in knowing that we have a way to get food or water in him if he ever needs it like if he were to get sick. We also want to make sure the cardiologist is ok with removing it as well and he has an appointment on the 21st with her. More to come on that one.

Mason's Talking

Just like his eating and drinking, this has also exploded. He repeats EVERYTHING! He can now tell us what he wants which he does with a loud voice every now and then. He can be pretty demanding at times! He can now count to 10 and recognizes some letters. Daddy has even taught him what a Jayhawk is. Mason now requests to wear his Jayhawk shirts when changing his clothes and he has a few of them courtesy of Daddy. Randy is very proud of this latest development.

Mason's Party Tricks

Mason has a few games that we like to show off to our friends and family. This first and, in my opinion the most impressive, is his ability to recognize words. We figured out that Mason was recognizing certain things on the TV like the name of our cable provider. Mason received a Magnadoodle for his birthday (thanks, Aaron, Britian and Kasen). We write words on it and Mason reads them back to us. He knows Mom, Dad, Mason, Sissy, and Cheese among other words. There are also a few words that Mason can even spell for us. I know I am his Mom and am biased but I think that is pretty amazing! Mason also loves to play Hide n Seek. He will stand in the middle of the room, pretend to close his eyes, count to 10 and then come find you. In ususal Mason fashion, his whole entire body lights up with excitement when he finds you. I have spent many of my lunch hours at home playing Hide n Seek. I would give up some food for that any day!

Mason's Behavior

Mason is 2 years old. Need I say more? He can be the sweetest little boy and in the next second be just plain rotten! Seriously, he will just come running in from the other room, grab my arm and give it the biggest hug. He also gets way too much joy from making his sister scream. We have tried to give him time-outs. This has been interesting. He thinks it is a game and even puts himself in time-out. What to do????? He has even started throwing things when he gets mad. If there is nothing in sight to throw, he will go to another room and find the first thing that he can make fly across the room. There are times that I have to hide my smile. It is just too funny!

Mason's Upcoming Appointment

As I mentioned earlier, Mason had a pediatrician appointment to see how he is developing and to get his first RSV shot of the season. We were pleased to find out that Mason had been approved for the Synagis shots again this year. He will receive a shot at the first of each month from November to March to help protect him from RSV. These are very expensive shots so there is an application and approval process. Mason may not think this is a good thing but we have to do what is best for him. Mason's second appointment in November is with the cardiologist. She will be accessing if we can start lowering the medication he was put on for his pulmonary hypertension. Based on the heart cath before his last surgery, his pressures in his lungs are normal. This makes me nervous but it would be nice to get him off another med especially the med that causes us so much trouble with insurance. So, please keep Mason in your thoughts and prayers this next month for a good report.

Mia is now in 1st Grade!

I can not believe I have a 1st grader. We have already been through the first quarter and her grade card was really good. Her favorite subjects are Music, Science and History. And her least favorite are PE (she really doesn't like doing squats!). She also wants me to add that really likes recess as well. Her best grades were in Spelling and Bible Verses - that girl has a great memory! We continue to work on her Reading and Writing. Her grades are pretty good in these areas but have room for improvements. She has started bringing home chapter books from the Library for us to read. It is fun as a parent seeing her learn so many things at such a young age. Amazing!

Mia's the STAR

Mia has a role in her upcoming Christmas program. She is the Star! But we already knew that. She will get to wear a costume and sing a song - at least that is what she is telling us - hard to believe since she inherited her singing abilities from her dad. If you have heard him sing, you know exactly what I mean! :) We are so excited to see her program.

Mia is dancin' and tumblin'

Mia is taking both dance and gymnastics lessons this year. She did dancing for the first time last year and wasn't very excited until the costumes showed up for the recital. And she loved the recital! She is doing a very good job this year and has remember most of the dance steps from last year. The best part is when we get home from dance. She then tries to teach Mason all the moves and Mason loves it. Next thing I hear is both of them running through the house saying "Shuffle Step!" Randy's niece, Kaiti, is taking me to gymnastics after school once a week. She has been a great help to us since she is here in Wichita this year going to college. A few weeks ago I attended Parents Day and was surprised to see how much Mia had learned. It was crazy for me to see her tumbling and swinging on bars. She has come very far in just a short time.

Mia had a tooth pulled!

One of Mia's permanent teeth came in behind her baby tooth so the dentist had to pull the baby tooth. She was very worried about this all the way up to the appointment. I couldn't have asked for the appointment to have gone any better - the gas to get her to relax really did wonders! She was giggling the whole time. The doctor was great and Mia didn't feel a thing. She even said, "That was it?" Getting her flu shot was worse than this! Next year I think I am going to ask for some of that gas for the flu shot.

Well, that is about it for now. I wish I could honestly say that I will try to update more but I just don't see that happening. Life is good and busy!

Thanks for checking in on us and keeping our family in your thoughts and prayers.